BLOODY Dream Home

Property in Hong Kong has always been expensive (Housing prices per square foot increased by 1022% from 1979 to 2011) due to the high land price policy there. However, it has gradually become a significant problem to the working class under the leadership of former Chief Executive Donald Tsang. In 2010, a Hong Kong Director, Pang ho-cheung, made a thriller film “Dream Home” to satirize the extreme situation of housing problem there.

Dream Home

Plot: When she was a child, Cheng Lai-Sheung (Josie Ho) could see Hong Kongs famed Victoria harbour from her apartment. But as time passed, the old buildings in front of her home were demolished to make way for a huge residential project No. 1 Victoria Bay that now blocks her view. Increasingly disappointed and upset, she vowed to one day save up enough money for her family to move into No. 1 Victoria Bay with a magnificent sea view.

In order to achieve her dream, Cheng has to work hard at two full-time jobs. She even goes as far as stealing customer data to sell to other companies. However, no matter how much she toils, she cannot earn enough to keep up with the ever-increasing values of Hong Kongs real estate. Since property prices keep leaping higher, her dream home now seems forever out of reach until suddenly, it dawns on her: in order to get what she wants, she must take matters into her own hands even if it means getting her hands seriously bloody…

King’s Cube?

Sarcasm on this topic emerges not only in mainstream film, but also indie short video clip on Youtube. This video King’s cube, which has more than hundred thousand views, tried to use the “property promotion language” commonly used in promoting luxury properties to promote a cubicle apartment in Sham Shui Po, a residential area for low income working class. It showcases the unreasonable size and price of apartments nowadays and the ridiculousness of property promotion method.